What does a part-time receptionist cost?
Start with the wage. The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median pay for receptionists at $18.27 an hour, or $38,010 a year, as of May 20253. A part-time receptionist working 25 hours a week at that rate earns about $1,979 a month: 25 hours times $18.27 is $456.75 a week, times 52 weeks, divided by 12 months3.
Then add what employers pay on top. BLS reports that for part-time workers in private industry in June 2026, wages were 80% of total compensation and benefits the other 20%4. Treating the wage as 80% of the total brings the example to about $2,474 a month4. For full-time workers, benefits were a larger share, 31.5%4. Hiring, training and covering sick days and vacations come on top of that. The table shows the arithmetic.
| Item | Figure | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly wage | $18.27 | BLS median pay for receptionists, May 2025 |
| Weekly wages | $456.75 | 25 hours times $18.27 |
| Monthly wages | About $1,979 | $456.75 times 52 weeks, divided by 12 |
| Benefit share for part-time workers | 20% of total compensation | BLS employer costs, private industry, June 2026 |
| Monthly total with benefits | About $2,474 | $1,979 divided by 0.80 |
| AI receptionist paid starting plans | Under a tenth of the monthly total | Four providers' pricing pages, October 2026 |
What does an AI receptionist cost?
Far less per month. When we checked four providers' own pricing pages in October 2026, every paid starting plan cost under a tenth of the example month above. The cheapest included 60 minutes a month2, and one provider also lists a free tier1. Most small businesses will need more than the cheapest plan, so price a normal month, not the entry tier.
The bill also depends on what the plan counts: minutes, calls or callers. A busy month, long calls or overage can raise it, and forwarding calls can add charges on your phone bill. Our guide to which calls use up an AI receptionist's minutes walks through it. Even so, a plan that covers a busy month usually costs a fraction of a part-time hire.
What does a receptionist do that an AI can't?
Most of the job that is not the phone. BLS lists what receptionists typically do: answer the phone and take messages, schedule and confirm appointments, greet visitors, check them in and show them where to go, let staff know who has arrived, enter customer information, file documents and handle mail3. An AI receptionist covers the first two and part of the data entry. It cannot do the rest.
It also cannot make the first impression in person. BLS notes that receptionists are often the first employee a customer meets3. If people walk through your door, that matters more than any phone saving.
When does each one make sense?
If nearly all your contact is by phone, such as a trade business whose customers never visit, an AI receptionist does the core job for a small share of the cost, and it can answer at hours a part-time hire does not work. If customers walk in all day, such as a salon, clinic front desk or showroom, you need a person at the desk, and an AI is a backup for the phone when that person is busy.
Many small offices land on both: a person during the busiest hours, and an AI for overflow, lunch breaks, evenings and weekends. To run your own numbers, use your local wage instead of the national median, the hours you need covered, and a month of real call volume priced against a plan you would actually use.